Netflix: Confirms it will release video games

Netflix has confirmed that it will be heading into the gaming market.

The streaming company shared details of their plans in a letter to investors saying: "The time is right to learn more about how our members value games."

Rumours about Netflix's interest in gaming started to rise when they announced that they had hired Mike Verdu to be their "vice president of game development".

Mike used to work for the gaming company Electronic Arts (EA), and has worked on games like Plants vs. Zombies 2, The Sims Freeplay and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.

But how might a Netflix gaming service work?

How might a Netflix gaming service work?

In their letter Netflix said: "We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV."

When people first heard that Netflix was considering making games, many wondered how their subscription costs would work, and whether they might increase.

"Games will be included in members' Netflix subscription at no additional cost similar to films and series." the streaming company explained.

These games would appear alongside the regular things they make, like TV shows and films.

"Initially, we'll be primarily focused on games for mobile devices." they said.

There are still no details on what types of games will be available yet.

Why gaming?

In a statement in 2019 Netflix said that the company's biggest competition was the game Fortnite: "We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO." because of how much time people spent playing it, compared to watching things on Netflix.

The gaming industry is huge - really huge! According to a report by the Entertainment Retailers Association in 2019, the gaming industry is now worth more than the video and music industry combined.

Lots of other big tech companies have also branched out into gaming streaming services too, like Apple making Arcade, and Microsoft releasing a Game Pass.

Netflix has previously made TV programmes that have an interactive story feature, called "choose-your-own-adventure", where viewers can replay and choose the outcomes to various situations the characters face.

For now we'll have to wait and see what a Netflix gaming service might look like, but what do you think? Would you want to play games on Netflix, or do you think they should just make TV shows and films?